It Starts With One
by MindoftheSongbird
Summary: She smiled at his attempt of humor. It was a warm smile. A smile that never really appeared on the girl's face, really. Seeing this made him happy. He hardly ever saw her like this.-Takes place on Gran Pulse. HopexLight.
1. Chapter 1

Hello! I'm back, writing for FFXIII this time. I love XIII...I really do! This is a HopexLightning fic. I started it on a whim last night, and the rating may change, so beware! I dunno. I'm just kinda rolling with the punches here.

And here's the part where I say that **I do not own Final Fantasy XIII or any of its characters or creatures or whatever. **

Enjoy!

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><p>It starts with one. It <em>always<em> starts with one. One look...one word. One touch, one kiss… Is it always just one?

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><p>Hope didn't know what to do… He was lost. He was scared. Lonely. Confused. He had lost all hope… Gran Pulse was intimidating. It was undiscovered. <em>Dangerous<em>. Everything around him was dangerous. Was going on this journey really worth it? Why didn't he just stay on Cocoon, back at Lake Bresha? Or better yet, why did he even _follow_ the strange, bubbly girl? Where did she even intend on taking him back then, anyway? She pulled him along, as he was too shocked to comprehend that near-war pandemonium was happening around them. ..oh. Right. He remembered. Revenge. But Hope needed no revenge. Operation NORA was dead.

The operation was over, and there wasn't much to work towards anymore. Sure, he could fight to survive, but what was there to survive for? There was no point in fighting if there's no strength behind it. But there was something...a spark of _something_ that he felt every now and again. When did he start feeling these sparks? Surely he could remember… He could only sense a blurred line… He remembered no transition effect. He couldn't remember when it started, or if it would ever stop. He would feel it in battle every now and then, though hazy when paired with the rush of satisfaction. He was an excellent attacker, choosing to stay behind the lines and hit each enemy with their weaknesses until they faded away in defeat. There were times when he was needed as a healer, when one was close to being down for the count, or unable to battle due to status immunities.

Just as Fang finished off the menacing feral beast, Hope cast a quick esuna on his rapidly depleting health. Poison could be a bitch sometimes. He sighed when he heard an unattractive snort come from the blond man hauling yet another gorgonopsid to the pile. Best not to waste materials, right? It was growing colder on Gran Pulse, as most assumed that they were heading into the winter months. The gorgonopsids were shrinking in numbers, making it harder for all matters of life on Gran Pulse to feed and stock up for the upcoming winter. All wildlife seemed to migrate like amphisbaenas toward an undiscovered part of Pulse. Should they be doing as the winged beasts and feral creatures were? Was it safe to be here in the winter? As if to answer Hope's unspoken question, Vanille pointed in the direction of the great migration with a bubbly "That way!"

Hope heard Fang agree in that still unfamiliar accent her voice had. He had to wonder… Had all of Gran Pulse's citizens sounded like that? Or was it just an Oerba thing? He sighed. It didn't really matter, he supposed. As far as they could tell, Fang and Vanille were the only two people left from Gran Pulse. Casting his curiousness the side, he noted that the sun had all but disappeared behind the horizon. It was that time again, and there was no safe place in sight. Mindless of their safety, however, Hope saw Snow setting up their camp for the night. He sighed once again as he realized that it was his turn to find materials for the fire tonight.

He _hated_ this job. The Central Expanse of the Archylte Steppe was devoid of most trees, and the few that were there were strongly guarded by the creatures that used them as their homes. Hope just had to tell himself that this was survival of the fittest here as he cast spell after spell at the beast. Once the less-than-intimidating creature was dispatched, he began breaking the branches off of the tree one by one with his boomerang. He, much unlike Snow, wanted to preserve the tree as much as he could since there were so little of them around. He'd have to hurry, though. He could hear the back-up creatures running towards their fallen comrade, and he would no doubt be defeated by this many enemies alone. As they approached the area, Hope shrouded himself with a deceptisol to successfully avoid them. Shrouds certainly came in handy when you needed them, didn't they? He hauled branch after branch over to their makeshift campsite.

He glanced around the campsite, and duly noted that no one else was around. Everyone had jobs each night; some were better at certain jobs, but they switched each night to better experience themselves. Sahz had the duty of striping the kill of the day of all meat and materials, while Fang held the duty of constructing things out of said materials. Snow was clearing out the surrounding area of enemies, and would also be guarding the campsite tonight. Vanille was off finding certain plants and herbs to keep their inventory stocked up in the event of an emergency. And Lightning..? She was charting out their next move, figuring out what their plan of action was. She worked on a high ledge jutting out from the cliff side wall that their camp was based at. She could see everything from that ledge… She knew what they would do next. They would follow the migration, as it seemed to be the best course of action, given the oncoming weather. She sighed as she stared at the dark cloud rolling into view. A storm was evident, and what shelter did they have?

She jumped down from her perch on the cliff wall, and gave Hope a quizzical look. He had pulled most of the wide, heavy leaves off of each branch, and was tying them together with some sort of thin, braided pelt. Those leaves were an excellent source of food, so why waste them? They didn't taste great, but any edible food was welcomed by this point. Kneeling down across from him, she cleared her throat to gain his attention. When he saw the confused look she gave him, he explained.

"I'm sure you saw those horrendous-looking clouds up there…It looks like it's gonna be pretty bad, and I figured that since we seem to have enough food for a few days, why not use these for some shelter?" Hope spoke with a smile, feeling a sense of satisfaction wash over him as he saw Lightning understand his reasoning. "We could probably hang this up from the cracks in the wall, and maybe use a couple of these branches to hold it up away from the wall. What do you think, Light?"

She nodded in agreement, and began helping Hope construct their shelter. It really was a good idea; she was surprised that no one thought of it sooner. She glanced over to Sahz's temporary work area, and sighed at the pile of bones that he was making them in his work. What were they supposed to do with those? It was most efficient to use all of whatever it was that they had killed, and there were no exceptions to that. Usually, surrounding animals would take whatever they didn't use for themselves, but now all such creatures had moved out of the area, making it difficult for them to recycle.

Once Hope noticed that the light-haired girl had stopped working, he carefully followed her gaze over to the pile of freshly stripped bones. As if able to read her mind, he spoke. "Don't worry, Light. We can find a use for them. Maybe use them to make tools or something." This seemed to ease her mind a little. "Haha, maybe we even can make a weapon for Snow."

She smiled at his attempt of humor. It was a warm smile. A smile that never really appeared on the girl's face, really. Seeing this made him happy. He hardly ever saw her like this. They shared few moments like this together, and he savored every single one of them. He always did. Her smile faded, however, as a feeling of threat washed over her. Something was nearby...something foreign. "Stay here, Hope." He didn't get a chance to retaliate against her order, as she had hopped back up to her perch on the cliff side for surveillance. Growling to herself, she called down to Hope. "Can you see anything from down there?"

He shook his head, and sighed. It must have been just a passing thing, or perhaps an amphisbaena flying by. Either way, it didn't seem to calm the girl down much. He heard her holler down to him that she was going to go higher up to keep looking, and he sighed. He didn't want her to travel higher up. Whatever it was, it was probably up there waiting for Lightning. He couldn't understand how she could get up there in the first place…

With a final jump, she landed with a thunk on the high ground of the rock formation. She looked down at the area below, and still saw nothing. Did it disappear? No, it couldn't have. She could still sense its presence. "Damn it…" She looked behind her to check the area behind her before she headed back down to the camp. When she turned a full 180-degree around, she was quickly taken off-guard by a…what was it? It resembled an amphisbaena, but had significant differences to it. It looked more menacing than the other flyers… Surely she couldn't take this on by herself… She knew it would be unwise to attempt such a feat. Lightning backed up as much as she could before feeling the edge of the cliff, and cursed under her breath. She had her weapon drawn for defensive purposes only, and was ready to defend if needed.

This spooked the wyvern, as it swooped forward in a powerful attack with its poison-spiked tail swung toward her, and knocked her off of her feet. She could feel the painful gash on her leg burn as some form of poison replaced the steady flow of blood leaving her leg. She backed up as much as she could from her spot on the ground. She couldn't get up; she couldn't _move_ her right leg at _all_. With no feeling in her leg, jumping back down to safety was out of the question. But she couldn't just stay here and let thing attack her. She retaliated as much as she could with her blade with each attack the wyvern put forward. It was no use. There was nothing she could do.

The wild beast screeched and dove right for her. She rolled almost completely out of the way, only to be trapped. That damn thing's tail had caught her by the cape, and thrashed her about wildly- she wished the damned thing would just tear off already! When the material finally tore, she flew through the air and rolled to a halt at the edge of the cliff. She had various cuts and scrapes from being hit against the wild beast's wings, among other things. That damned thing's tail had gotten her a few other places as well…her left wrist, and twice on her back. She could tell there was a paralyzing quality to whatever venom it contained. No wonder this thing's so damned powerful…

She could hear something, though. Something faint. Almost as if someone was calling her name…Hope! Right! Hope was down there, waiting for her. Maybe he could catch her… Either way, she wouldn't feel her body hit the hard ground anyway. It was worth a shot, she supposed. Using what strength she had left, she pushed her body off of the ground enough to roll herself off of the cliff.

Hope was beyond worried by this point. He heard _something_ screech from up in the sky, and hadn't heard anything else, despite his desperate attempts to gain her attention. He tried once. Twice. Dozens of times, but to no avail. He looked upward once more, and the worry grew in his heart even more as he saw a stripe of royal red fabric flittering down to the ground. What was happening up there? That was it; he _had_ to go up there, no question about it. He dashed toward the wall, but halted almost immediately stopped dead in his tracks. What was leaning over the edge of the wall…? Was that..? ….it fell. _She _fell. He saw her mouth moving, but he heard nothing. He ran forward, desperate to catch her. He _wanted_ to catch her. He _couldn't _catch her.

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><p>There you have it! I decided to end this chapter here. Cliffhanger, I know (ignore the pun),<p>

Thank you for reading! Favorites and reviews are always accepted! Flames, however...are not. :)


	2. Chapter 2

There! I didn't think that I'd get the second chapter out so quickly, honestly! Especially since I started writing another fic today! ^.^;;; This one's longer than the last chapter, I believe.

Once again, I shall state the **disclaimer**: I don't own any part of XIII or any part of the Final Fantasy franchise. -.-

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><p><em>It's raining, isn't it..? <em>When Lightning awoke from her unfortunate slumber, she duly noted that she couldn't feel anything but the humid air of the rain-filled night gently caressing her face. As she surveyed her surroundings, she found it odd that she was surrounded by walls. The area designated for their make-shift campsite didn't have walls… She looked around, looking to see if she was alone. She saw Vanille curled up at Fang's back with the chocobo chick resting right next to her. Not too far from them was Sahz, who had fallen asleep sitting upright. He'd regret that in the morning… She didn't see Snow anywhere, and felt panic rising when she failed to find Hope.

She hissed at the pain that shot up her arm and back as she desperately attempted to sit up. She _had_ to find Hope. It hurt so damn much, but she had to do it. Lightning jumped at the hand that landed on her shoulder, and found it hard to go against it as it gently pushed her back down. Her eyes darted to the owner of the hand, and she sighed a heavy sigh of relief. It was Hope. He was safe...

He looked at her with concerned eyes. Those beautiful, _gorgeous_ eyes were filled with worry, and she couldn't seem to understand why. "Lightning..are you alright?" His voice matched his eyes. It hit her. The winged beast…the fight…and the fall. She sighed deeply as she recalled her battle. Hope began to panic when she didn't answer. "Light? Lightning? Are you okay?"

After a few quite moments passed by, she nodded. No, she wasn't really alright. But she couldn't let that stop her, or anyone else for that matter, from continuing on their journey. Despite her confirmation, Hope still seemed a little too concerned. He opened his mouth to speak, but no words came to him. He had all sorts of questions to ask her… What happened? What _was_ it that attacked her? Why did she confront it? Why didn't she call for help? They probably could have defeated it if they'd been there, but she attempted to destroy it all on her own. Why would she do that if she knew that the beast was too powerful for her to take on? None of it made any sense… He opened his mouth to speak once more, but was cut off by Lightning almost immediately.

"Don't worry about what happened, okay? It's not important, so don't even ask."

Hope certainly didn't like what he heard. "Bull freaking crap, Light! You almost die, and you _seriously_ expect everyone to just go on without knowing anything at all? When Snow got back, he flipped his shit! He wouldn't stop trying to literally shake the answers out of me! What the hell happened up there, Light..?" He sounded angry as he spoke, but that was most certainly not the case. He was worried. He was confused. He was _afraid_. "You can tell me..you trust me, don't you..?"

"….fine, you win." She sighed in defeat. She had hoped that no one would really want the details of how she got hurt. "When I went up to the top of the cliff, I was ambushed by…something. It looked like an amphisbaena, but it was different. It was a lot more powerful, and dangerous. I knew I couldn't fight it by myself, but…" She paused, watching the expression on Hope's face grow more worried with each word she said. "If I had run, I knew it would have followed me, and most likely would have outrun me. I just had to defend myself…"

"Why didn't you call for help? You know we would have helped you out if you'd just-"

"I was caught off-guard, alright?" She watched Hope flinch at the sharpness of her words. She hadn't meant to snap at him, but… She was Lightning Farron. She wasn't _supposed_ to let her guard down. "..I'm sorry…I shouldn't have snapped at you like that.."

"It's alright…I just don't get it… You said it was like an amphisbaena, but stronger? It could have been a zinirtra… Fang and Vanille told me about them after we found a couple of those Cieth Stones…"

"Ha…figures…damned beasts." She sighed, letting her eyes drift around the…wherever they were. "..hey Hope? Where are we? This wasn't where we made camp before…"

"Nah, it's not. Snow found an abandoned cavern not too far from where we were, so we just moved over there since…uhh, never mind."

"Ah, no. Since what?"

"…uhh, no, I don't think you want to know…though, it _is_ what helped break your fall…"

"Did I land on someone?"

"No, not quite… You know that shelter we were building before you left? You kinda…broke it when you fell… But you would have been a lot worse off if you hadn't landed on that first! Besides, we found better shelter, so we can use that for something else instead." Judging by the less-than-amused expression on Lightning's face, he decided that it would be best to change the subject. Sort of. "Vanille was able to get whatever that dark stuff in your system was. Fang said it was some sort of poison I guess… That's why she thinks it was a zinirtra that attacked you. Anyway, You've got plenty of make-shift stitches now, and…" Hope wondered if now was the best time to be telling her all of this… Regardless, she needed to know. "And…your left wrist is broken, and you have a fracture in your right leg. At least, that's what Sahz thinks."

"…great." _Great_. This was _exactly_ what she needed. Now they'd be stuck here for even longer. "Regardless of my condition, we're moving forward. We have to. With this supposed winter coming, we can't stay in one place until we know we'll be safe for the time being."

Hope looked at her like she was absolutely crazy. "You're kidding, right? We're waiting until you're better to keep going. We already talked about it."

"Don't I get any say in this? Just because I'm injured, that doesn't mean that we have to stop completely. If we do that, we'll die the way things are going. We have to migrate with the rest of those damned things, or we'll die!"

"Light, you can't _move_ without being in pain! You've got some sort of pain killing herb in your system, and you're _still_ in pain. Doesn't that tell you anything?" From her lack of response and lack of eye contact, Hope could tell that he had won, if only for the time being. "Look, Light…Most of your body's all stitched up right now…It won't take very long for those to heal a little more, and you'll be able to walk again around the same time…"

It wasn't until now that she had realized that she had been laying on her right side this entire time… She duly recalled just how many times the winged beast scratched and scraped her, and she sighed heavily in defeat. "We'll wait a few more days. But after that, we have to haul ass."

Hope smiled at her, and placed a warm hand on her shoulder. She was cooperating. _

"Alright, here's what we'll do for today." Snow said in that cheery hero voice he used all too often. "Vanille, you and Sahz will go look for more of those plant things that you found last night. Fang, I want you to scout ahead a bit and see what kind of terrain we're gonna be going through next. And if you found another empty cave or somethin', that'd be awesome. Hope, you stay here with Lightning. If you two stay inside the cavern, you'll be fine. Nothing will attack you in here. "

"What will you do, Snow?" Hope thought it was a legitimate question to ask.

"Your hero," he said with a wink. "will be running some simple errands for these Cieth stones."

"And getting more firewood, I hope. Don't completely massacre the trees like you did last time, okay?"

"Cram it, Fang. Your hero's got everything under control! Okay? Let's go!" No one other than Vanille and the chocobo chick seemed to share Snow's enthusiasm. "Haha! We'll meet back here at sundown, okay?" With everyone in agreement, they disbanded into their assigned groups to complete their tasks for the day.

Lightning sighed. She was getting tired of this, and fast. There wasn't _anything_ she could do. "Damnit…this is ridiculous. I shouldn't be sitting here like a lazy ass." She angrily snapped the fire back to life with a quick fire spell. There. She did _some_thing. She would have kicked something in frustration if she could have. "Hope. Can you…no, never mind."

"What is it? Do you need me to get something for you? Are you hungry?"

"No. Forget it." She _was_ hungry, though. Starving, even. But there was no way she could ask him something so embarrassing. After he asked again, she buried her face in her arm. "Can you…teach me how to…cook something..?" She was glad her face was hidden. Serah was the only one who'd ever known her failure at cooking, and she had originally intended for it to stay that way. Forever.

"You don't know how to cook?" Hope thought that Lightning could do _anything_. But apparently not..

"Of course I can. I never said I was _decent_ at it. "

_She has a point_, Hope thought. Though…she asked _him_ how to cook? Why wouldn't she have asked her sister? Hope had never met het, but from what he heard, she was one hell of a chef. "Sure, I can show you how to make a few things… It won't be as good as some other stuff, since we don't really have the best stuff for it… But still, it'll be a start. Now…I'll show you how to tell what the best parts of most meats are…"

After their lunch lesson was complete, Lightning sighed in content. Sure, she hadn't gotten to move forward like she wanted to, but she learned how to make a good meal made from some freshly caught beast. It was an…interesting learning experience, but sort of…fun. She had honestly thought that cooking was nothing but a troubled waste of her time.

She sighed, watching Hope clean the dirt and grime off of his trusty weapon. What were they going to do now? They had almost the entire day left to themselves, and nothing to do. She had a spark of curiosity in her eyes. She always had to wonder what went on in that beautiful boy's head. Wait...beautiful? …Yeah, beautiful… "Hope?"

He seemed to be brought back from his thoughts when he heard Light's almost angelic voice. "Hm? Are you alright, Light?"

"Yeah, I'm fine. What…Hope, what are you planning on doing after all of this l'cie stuff is over?"

Her question made him pause for a minute… What _was_ he going to do after it was over? "Who knows?" There was no way of telling what their world would be like after all of it ended. He doubted anything would go back to the way it was before… No, that wasn't possible.

"Really?" She didn't really seem to believe him. "You were in school beforehand, right? What did you want to do then?"

"I didn't really know then, either. I was just kind of going along with it as it came."

"I see…" Lightning couldn't exactly say she understood… After their parents died, she at least had an idea of what needed to be done. Regardless of anything else she might have wanted to do, she joined the Guardian Corps to protect her sister.

"Well…what do _you_ want to do when this is over?"

"…I…I don't know either… Whenever I thought about it before, I usually just dismissed the thought entirely and kept fighting." She thought about what life _would_ be like after everything was over… Serah would be there with Snow, no doubt…They'd be married with their big, happy family… Sahz would spend his time raising Dahj and their chocobo… Fang and Vanille would most likely stay on Gran Pulse. After all, it _was_ what they were trying to do to begin with. Hope would live with his father, now that they were on better terms… And Lightning? What would she do? She'd be alone, wouldn't she…? She frowned at the thought. She wouldn't permit herself to invade on her sister's happy family… Maybe she could get a somewhat normal job for a change…

She jumped when she felt a hand land on her shoulder. "Light?" She turned to face the one who had snapped her out of her depressing train of thought. He was so close… She hadn't even noticed that he'd moved… "Are you alright?" She could feel his breath tickle her soft, now rose-colored cheeks. How did her get this close without her noticing? "You look a little flushed…I hope you aren't coming down with a fever…"

"N-no, I'm fine…" Once again, she was caught off-guard. Though…she didn't seem to mind when it was him… "Uh..I…here." Reaching into her red bag, she pulled out a survival knife and thrust it into Hope's hands.

He looked it over, noticing the worn details on the handle. It was beautiful, from what he could tell. The handle was stained a deep burgundy with the swirling intricate details etched in with soft silver. He could see some faint, faded black swirls that had been almost completely worn off. He removed the brown leather casing only to find that the blade, though scratched in several places, somehow managed to look brand new and sharp as ever. "Light…thank you, but I don't need-"

"Those are for more than revenge, Hope. That was the first one I ever had… It was a present from Serah, kind of like the one before. She gave it to me after we lost our parents… I tried to give one to Serah to keep her safe, but she wouldn't accept one. She said that I should protect her, not some knife…"

Hope smiled. Maybe he could use this to protect Lightning. "Thank you, Light… I'll take good care of it, I promise!"

There was that boyish charm he had… Lightning felt a certain flutter in her heart. It was quite a bit stronger than it had been before… Whenever she felt this…flutter, it was light and reminiscent of an elementary school girl's crush or something to that effect. But now…now this feeling was overpowering. She felt like she couldn't breathe when he was so close to her… Normally if someone got that close, they would meet the knuckles of her fist. But Hope…how did Hope manage to get past those barriers? And somehow…she didn't mind. She _preferred_ that Hope were this close to her, both emotionally _and_physically. She felt safe when he was with her… She could remember when it started…

"_This isn't working…" She was fed up with this. She was fed up with _him_. No matter where she went or how difficult her path was, he always ended up right behind her. She was done babysitting some little kid. No matter how much he complained, she would absolutely _not_ allow him to keep following after her. If he wanted to take the same path, fine, just as long as he stayed out of her way. But no, he had to slow her down with his weak, innocent self. _

_It was then that her Eidolon chose to strike. It was then that she had to choose life or death. She didn't know why, but she found herself blocking Odin's attempt to strike Hope down forever. If he was such a nuisance, then why did she bother risking her life to protect him? _

_It was after that battle that she felt the first flutter. _

After that day, she began feeling more and more of these feelings… It would happen when he looked at her a certain way, or when their hands brushed together for the slightest of seconds… Those feelings only kept growing…only…now, Hope would look at her with much more intensity in her eyes. It was a soft, loving look…like… It was a lot like the looks Snow would give to Serah… When he would give her those loving eyes, she would wrap her arms around his waist and tell him "I love you"…

Her heart seemed to leap at the thought. Did she…love…Hope? She certainly knew she liked him… A lot, in fact. She could practically hear her sister giggling in merriment at Lightning's…feelings. If she were here, she'd intervene, no doubt about it. Serah would badger her to tell Hope every day, saying that it would be better if he knew. But Serah wouldn't know how Hope would react. What if he felt the complete opposite about Light? What if he only liked her as a big sister? Or liked her because she reminded him of his mother…? She couldn't tell him. She _wouldn't_ tell him. Now wasn't the time for it anyway.

She hadn't noticed that he had moved to sit next to her, and softly ran his hand through her silky pink hair. His touch was so soft…so comforting… She closed her eyes, letting her mind wander. What if…what if Hope reciprocated her feelings? That would be pure bliss… They could have something… They could have a nice little get-away between themselves throughout all of the crap they always seemed to be pushed into. They could hold onto each other in times of distress and know that at the end of the day, they'd still have each other, and that would be all that mattered. And once everything was over, they could live in a quaint, little house with a small flower garden out front and lovely shaded porch where they could rest in each others' arms at the end of the day… They'd have a gorgeous, trustworthy dog to keep them company until…

Lightning hadn't realized that her thoughts had traveled so far. Upon that realization, she hid her face in the excess of Hope's pants. There was something off, though… Something was missing. She snuck a glance upward to see that Hope had dozed off, his hand resting gently on the crook of her neck. He looked so peaceful when he slept… Perhaps he wouldn't mind if she used his leg as a pillow…


	3. Chapter 3

TT_TT I am SO sorry this chapter took so long! I actually had it done earlier this week, but every time I tried to upload it, the site would give me problems. I think it was down that night or something... But the good news is, is that I've got the next chapter in-progress! Like Law of Chaos, I've been writing it in a notebook, since I can't actually take my laptop with me to school. Annnd I've got three weeks left, and I'll have graduated from cosmetology school! ...so I've got tons of time to do nothing, since I'm almost done with my progress. Hooray for writing!

Like always, my **disclaimer**: I don't own any part of FF.

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><p>She didn't quite understand why, but when Light awoke few hours later, she felt warm and safe. She cracked her eyes open to find the fire reduced to a few smoldering embers, and <em>someone <em>was curled up at her back. She froze when she felt the warm body move, and slowly exhaled as an arm was wrapped around her torso. She felt _safe_… Hope must have fallen asleep. She wished she could sleep like this every night…

There was just something calming about having Hope so close. She felt more than just safe. She felt comfortable. She felt cared for. She felt _happy_. She was slowly coming to the realization that she wanted to _be_ with Hope. Not as just a friendly companion, but something _more_. She _wanted_ that small white house to share with him. She _wanted_ to be able to fall asleep in his arms every night for the rest of their lives. She…she _loved_ him. But...

But what if everything were to fail in the end? What if they were just going to end up dying? What if after this was over, they'd never see each other again…? There was no guarantee that they would live to see the next week, or day, or even the next_ hour_. Hell, she almost _died_ the previous day! How were they supposed to know if they would succeed? What if they ended up turning Cieth? Then they would live their endless lives in pure anguish…

Lightning couldn't stop all of the depressing thoughts that had flooded her mind. She _had_ to tell Hope how she felt. But…but what if he didn't feel the same? What if he just outright rejected her? She couldn't take that. She was afraid… She was afraid of being hurt with the powerful feeling of rejection. And she didn't think that she could take that.

She jumped as the body next to her began to stir. What was she supposed to say to him? She wanted to tell him what she felt, but at the same time, she wanted to run in fear of the possibility of rejection. But what if..what if maybe, _just maybe_ they could share the time they had left together? Not like they had been doing for their entire journey, no. Maybe they could be together like a _couple_. …even if it _was_ for just a short time. At least _then_ she could be happy for a while…and maybe Hope would be happy, too.

Hope let out a loud, slightly childish yawn, and pushed himself up off the ground. What was he doing on the ground…? Last he remembered, he and Light were curled up on the giant bean bag chair in his room watching some movie… So…how did he end up on the cold, dirty floor? …oh. Right. The l'cie thing. _Why'd I hafta wake up, anyway? That was a good dream…_ He jumped when a hand landed on his side.

"Good afternoon, kiddo…" _Kiddo? What the hell? _"Sorry…I know you don't like it when people call you a kid…"

Even though Hope _was_ just a kid, he'd been through far too much to be considered that. He was a kid on the outside, but no longer on the inside. She felt so bad for him… In one simple day, he'd had his mother _and_ his childhood taken away from him. That was certainly no way for a boy to grow up. Once again, doubt began to fill her mind. How was she supposed to make this hurt feeling go away?

"Thanks, Light… How did you sleep?"

Hope was always so kind to her… "Oh, pretty well…" That was honestly the best sleep she'd had since this damned thing began. "Although…" Before she could voice the thought, she quickly cast a quick cure on herself. There. No need to make Hope worry!

"Light, don't use up your strength like that!" Or not. "You've gotta preserve your strength for getting better. Let _me _do it; I've got strength to spare."

"Hope… You need to save your strength, too, you know… What if we get attacked? _I_ certainly can't take care of the enemy." She had a point, even though they were completely safe in their little cave. It's not that she didn't think that Hope could take care of it, but she was supposed to protect him!

"No, Light. It's _my_ turn to protect _you_."

Right… They had _both_ promised to protect each other. "…oh, fine…" She hated resigning to just…_resting_ here, though. She felt like she was giving up. She couldn't fight; hell, she could barely _move_ without the pleasing effects of herbal painkillers.

The silver-haired teen took both of her hands in his, once again breaking her from her depressing thoughts. "Lightning…whether you're hurt or not, regardless of whether or not you can fight, I _will_ protect you. I _swore_ to protect you… Light…I…I really, _really_ like you…so…I've gotta protect you! If I can't protect you, then…then what am I supposed to do? What does it mean if I can't protect the woman I l…" At that moment, Hope realized just _what_ he was saying, and his embarrassment colored his face like a red rose on pristine, white paper.

She reached up to grasp the yellow fabric of Hope's jacket, and urged him to continue. "No…tell me, Hope."

He took a deep breath. He had hoped that he could calm himself down. "I-I…uh..I l—"

Before he could continue, Lightning roughly tugged him back towards the ground, leaving absolutely no space between their lips. It was a bold move on her part, and she was proud of it.

Hope's eyes slid shut as soon as he'd realized what was happening. He was _kissing_ the woman of his dreams. Not only was this really happening, but _she_ started it! He never thought this would happen. He thought that as soon as he'd said how he felt, she would smile sympathetically and ruffle his hair like she always did. But no…this was _happening_. And as much as he wanted it to continue, his small lungs couldn't seem to hold out much longer. "…I love you, Lightning...I…I've kind of been afraid that if I didn't tell you now, then…then I'd _never _get the chance to tell you. I mean…who _knows_ how long this l'cie business is going to last? Who _knows_ if we're going to—"

Lightning simply silenced him with another kiss. They didn't need to be dwelling on the 'what-if's right now. "I love you too, Hope…and…as much as I don't want to dwell on it, you're right… We _don't_ know how long this seemingly fruitless search going to go…but…" She sighed a somewhat content sigh. "At least we'll be together in this."

What was Lightning _saying_? She hadn't even _asked_ Hope if that's what he wanted. It was what _she_ wanted, maybe even _dreamed_ of, but what did Hope want? Yeah, he reciprocated her feelings, but that didn't mean that he wanted the same things she wanted, right? …apparently not, judging by the huge smile that spread across Hope's face. He couldn't help but wrap her up into a tight embrace and nuzzle his cheek against hers. He was so happy! He felt as if everything was right in the world, for once. He wanted nothing more than to be able to stay in this little, secluded cave of theirs forever…but…they couldn't do that. The cold, harsh wind of reality was throwing itself against the outer walls of their temporary inn.

The howling winds outside only served to remind them that they had to move as soon as possible. They couldn't feel the temperature slowly dropping outside, but as the day went on, it grew colder. They had to migrate with the rest of Pulse… There was no way they would survive a winter in the wild of Pulse, and they knew it. They had to travel to where it would be warmer, or they would fail to protect what and who they cared about.

"…We'll leave tomorrow morning, after sunrise."

"…ahaha, no. Sorry, Light, but you're not ready. And besides, you can't just make a serious decision for the whole group. You know as well as I do that once you even _think_ that idea around everybody else, they'll read your mind and give you a big fat 'no.'"

"Who gets a big fat 'no'? And for what?" Snow had returned from the outside sporting his usual big 'hero' smile, and a big pile of firewood. "Your hero has returned!" He dropped the pile of wood on the cold, dry stone floor, resulting in a loud clatter.

"Really, Snow, could you be a little less…obnoxious?"

Snow looked down in the direction of the voice, only to find the owner of said voice curled up quite comfortably in Hope's arms. "What's goin' on here…? Hope, did you hook up with Sis? Should I leave so you two can finish?"

While Hope was busy covering his reddened face from embarrassment, the pinkette picked up the nearest stone, and pelted it at Snow's head. The silver-haired teen peeked through the fingers that were covering his face at the sound of an 'ouch, damnit!,' and had to stifle a laugh. "What's wrong, Snow? I thought you'd be used to getting beaten up by your sister!"

"Shut up, that really hurt! I forgot how painful her reactions to my jokes were… Anyway, what's goin' on with you two? You look so comfortable all curled up together by the fire...I miss my princess…"

"Don't worry, Snow…we'll get her back. We just gotta get through this first, okay? Did you see any of the others heading this way..?"

"Nope…they should be here soon, though… How you holdin' up, Sis? You look a lot better than you did last night, that's for sure…"

"Thanks…I do feel a bit better…I mean, I know I shouldn't move around or anything, but I don't feel too tired or worn out. Hope's been taking such good care of me…"

"Yeah? Good. So…what's goin' on here? You don't seem like the type to cuddle, Sis…hell, is he your teddy bear or something?"

Lightning sent Snow a playful glare, and reached for the silver-haired teen's hand. "I've got someone to love and protect me. I don't need a teddy bear when I've got Hope to hold onto."

"Aww, how sweet!" The hero pulled out Serah's tear, holding it out in front of the pair. "Man, Serah, it finally happened! Wish you could be here, though. These two look so…adorable!" Snow pocketed the crystal, and smiled at Hope. "So Hope…you plannin' on marrying her?"

"D-don't you think that's a l-little soon, Snow…? I-I'm only fourteen!" Hope's face matched his love's in color, but he never denied the option. "A-anyway, since the others will be here soon, shouldn't we be working on some dinner o-or something?"

Snow chuckled, shooting a knowing look at Hope. "Ehh, we'll just wait until all of this is over. Then, you can make Lightning happier than ever. Aw, you two should go on a date as soon as everything's back to normal! You two can go out to dinner, see a movie, or maybe go dancing… Or…you two could have a romantic dinner at home, with romantic music and candles, and then you could curl up by the fire with some hot cocoa, and….no, no, you're too young to do that. You two aren't allowed to do that until Hope's eighteen."

"Oh? Because _you_'_re _allowed to decide when we consummate our relationship? I know for a _fact_ that you and Serah didn't wait until she was eighteen, _which_ I've yet to kill you for."

"L-L-Light, what do you m-mean by—"

"Oh, c'mon, Light…we never had any 'accidents' or anything. But y'know, if it were to happen to _you_, you'd have quite a problem on your hands… It'd be a real cute kid, though… Anyway, we're getting' off subject. No consummating until all of this is over."

"We can do it whenever the hell we want, Snow! You don't get to decide that!"

"Light…"

"Ooh, looks like you've got a rebel on your hands, Hope! I _do_ wonder just how long he can keep his hands offa you, though… He _is_ just a teenager. Man, if I were him, I woulda jumped you a long time ago…."

"_Snow!" _Light picked up a near-by stick from the pile of firewood, and aimed it at Snow's head. "Are you saying that you'd actually try to _cheat_ on my sister if you had the chance?"

"N-no! Listen, Sis, I was just sayin' that if I were younger than her, I'm not sure I'd have the restraint needed…'cause y'know, Serah's smokin' hot and all…"

"Lightning…" Hope mumbled between his hands, as they were once again covering his face in embarrassment. Were Snow and Light _really_ talking about how soon they would make their relationship….sexual? That was none of Snow's business! But…he'd always kind of wanted to…experiment…with his pink-haired beauty… However, this was _not_ the time _or_ place to talk about it! "Light…w-we were talking about some dinner for tonight..? Y'know, to feed..everyone..?"

"Snow, do _not_ talk about my sister like that when I'm around. And _especially _don't talk about what you might have _done_ to her, whether I'm around or not!"

"Chill, Sis. We gotta give you nieces and nephews _some_how. We're gonna have a biiiiig family, remember?"

Lightning covered her ears with her hands to try to block out any descriptions of her sister's love life. "Shut up! Neither of us wants to know about how you're going to do that!"

"Ehh, she's right. You're too young to know about this stuff, Hope. Now…shall we be making dinner for two, tonight? Shall I dish up some tasty gorgonopsid? Maybe an ectopudding-glazed rack of behemoth ribs?"

The pinkette sighed, but decided to play along with Snow's little game. "Serve us up whatever you've got, waiter.

Their dinner was far from romantic, but it was nicer than what they had thought it would be. Everyone had, for the most part, left Light and Hope in their own little corner for dinner. They dined on leftovers from the day before by a smaller fire in the cave. Hope fed her practically bite by bite, somewhat adorably against her will. She could do it on her own, damnit! But…she didn't mind. She enjoyed having someone to take care of her, for once. She liked it whenever Hope would brush aside her hair when it was in her face, or when he held onto her for just a little longer than usual… She felt most comfortable when Hope held her. That's where they were now, curled up in each other's arms next to the fire. Lightning didn't care about the strange looks she was receiving, or the sly looks Fang gave her. She loved Hope, and that was all that mattered.


	4. Chapter 4

Hello again! This one took me a while... I graduated, turned 20, got a job, and went to a convention all in one month! I'm sorry, readers! But it's here!

Disclaimer  I don't own...

* * *

><p>The bright sun was out, but the bird's chirp was drowned out by the howling sound of the wind. Lightning awoke with a start, only relaxing she felt an arm around her waist tighten. She gave the small cave a once-over and duly noted how the fire had once again reclaimed its life. She peered towards the cave entrance; it seemed the remaining four were formulating a plan. She strained her ears to tune in on their conversation, but she only heard hushed mumbles. An angry grumble came from Snow, one that matched his face entirely. He must have been defending his point. Fang pointed out side and stared at Snow with a hard look, and it was obvious what they were discussing. They had to move out.<p>

She saw Sazh put a hand on the blond brute's shoulder, and Snow knew he was right. She caught Vanille's worried gaze, but replaced it with a smile as soon as she realized she'd been caught. Light gave a tired sigh, and decided to focus on the teen curled up against her back. "Baby…Hope…wake up…"

He swung his free arm at the hand shaking him, and snuggled closer to Light. "No. I'm sleeping in…"

"Hope…it's time to wake up. We've gotta get ready for the day, okay? We've got work to do." She continued to shake the teen until he opened his green, tired eyes. He mumbled a few words of greeting before pulling on his jacket, and headed to the cave entrance. Hope walked past the others, not even noticing them in his tired haze, and stepped into the morning light of the outside. His slightly girlish shriek brought Lightning barreling towards the entrance sans weapon, and doing no favors to her injuries.

Hope stumbled back into the cave with cold, bare feet, and an embarrassed look on his face. "Cold! When the hell did _that_ happen?" He pointed an angry finger to the green ground, now covered in frost. "The sky was _clear _yesterday! Why's it so _cold_?"

Fang pulled the teen up by the back of his jacket, and roughly patted the dust off of his form. "I _told_ you! Pulse's weather changes _fast_! If we want to survive, we've gotta get out of here. And we can't wait any longer. We've gotta leave _today_, or we'll all die. We have to travel light, too. Take as little as we need with us." She tossed a log into the fire as she spoke, and nudged Light with her sandal-clad foot. "You, little missy, are gonna do what we say _without_ complaints. Got it?"

Lightning opened her mouth to protest, but Hope's pleading green eyes forced her to rethink her answer. "…fine."  
>_<p>

The pink-haired soldier had certainly not known what she had signed up for. The sun was high in the sky, though it gave little warmth. They had traveled quite a considerable distance, given their late start. Lightning had found herself being carried by Snow, and feeling quite childish. She hadn't had a piggyback ride in years. They alternated carrying her by distance traveled, and soon, it would be Fang's turn once more. Hope and Vanille were exempt from the Light-carrying task, as they carried the medical supplies and food. The silver-haired teen made sure to walk next to whoever was carrying his love, and usually kept one hand on her foot. He knew she hated being treated like luggage, so he tried his hardest to make it better for her.

"You okay back there, Sis?" Snow felt a quick tightening on his shoulders as the group started uphill.

"I'm as fine as I can be in my situation. Hope…?"

The teen perked up at the sound of his name. "What can I do for you? A-are you thirsty? In pain?" Hope scrambled throughout the supplies he was carrying for whatever she needed.

"Can I have some water? And…maybe..a cure…? My muscles are just a little bit sore…"

"Sure thing!" Hope handed her a leather canteen they had made on Pulse, and cast a quick cure onto her. "That better…? If that didn't work, then I'm sure Vanille has something…" He certainly couldn't carry her, so he had to help otherwise. "Are you hungry? I can get something to eat for you…or maybe you're cold?"

"Hope…I'm fine. All I need is for you to stay right by my side… Keep holding onto my foot. It's comforting." She reached her hand out to Hope, just barely reaching his head, and offered him a smile.

Hope smiled in return, reaching up to grab her hand. "Tonight, I'll make us a nice little fire and dinner…maybe find some fruit or something, and have a makeshift date! And then we can curl up next to the fire, and just relax…"

"A makeshift date…? That sounds nice… I've not been on a date since high school…"

"Really, now?" The blond man shifted the pinkette on his back as he walked. "Who took the ever-feared Lightning Farron out on a _date_? Who was _brave_ enough to, I wonder?"

"None of your business, blondie."

"Aw, c'mon, Sis! I'm sure little Hope here's curious, too!" Said blond ruffled the boy's hair, chuckling when he received a weak glare. "See? He's curious!"

"Shut up, Snow. It was only a few dates, so it's not important. Besides, I like Hope _much_ better than anyone I went out with in high school."

"Why, cause you know he's not just tryin' to score?"

"Didn't I tell you to shut up? Don't listen to him, Hope. But…if you really wanna know, I'll tell you later, okay?"

"Yeah…okay." Hope was curious. How many people had Light dated? All what had they done? Surely anything _they_ did would outmatch what he could do, especially on Gran Pulse… He was just a wimpy fourteen-year old. He'd never been on a date before, so what could _he_ do? All he knew was what happened in movies and on tv…and he couldn't do _any_ of that on Pulse. The best he could do was make a pathetic dinner, and curl up under the stars by the fire…

_Wait a minute._

Hope internally smacked himself in the head. Light didn't seem like the kind of girl that liked to be romanced by cheap movies and stereotypical city set-ups. No, she was a simple, yet…specific woman. She seemed like the type of woman who preferred more heartfelt things, rather than having money thrown around for her. In fact, she'd probably get mad at them for flaunting their money regardless. Hope smiled; he was in luck! He came from a wealthy family, but it didn't matter here on Pulse. He would make her _anything_ she asked for, or at least try his hardest. Everything would be perfect tonight!  
>_<p>

Later that evening, everything was _almost _set up for perfection in Hope's eyes. They had set up a camp in an essentially empty forest clearing after having travelled quite a long distance during the lighter hours. There were only a few birds and small harmless creatures scampering about the tree-covered ground as the pinkened sky turned dark. The group set up a large fire with a few tasty gorgonopsid legs. It wasn't much, but it worked. The silver-haired teen smiled at the woman curled up on his lap. He couldn't have asked for a better first date.

The pink-haired beauty switched her gaze to the two bright green eyes above her, and for a moment, she lost herself. "Do you think we'll make it back to Cocoon?" He voice was just above a whisper, but Hope heard her perfectly.

"I think…" Hope took a deep breath. What if she disliked his answer? He wasn't the pessimistic teenager from before, but… "I think that…even if we _do_ make it back…we won't be welcome l'cie or not." Hope didn't like his answer very much, but it was true. Hope wasn't just some kid from PalumPolum. He was the son of a highly respected government official. He was a son that ruined his dad's career. Not only that, but they sought to destroy the _world's_ primary official. Not all of the people of Cocoon would understand their reasoning, or ever attempt to. To Cocoon, they were the enemy, with or without power.

He was slightly shocked to hear her agreement after a long pause. "…you agree with me?"

"Yeah…I mean…I'd like to have things go back to the way they were, at least the everyday normalcy of life, but…that can't happen. Once we destroy Barthandelus, the majority of Cocoon will want us dead. And…we'll probably be forced to live in exile…"

"Lightning…do you think it'd be for the better if we just stayed on Pulse…? We could build a civilization up… Make our own cities and rules."

"…well…that's what we may have to do, Hope…" Lightning sighed, and placed a hand on his shoulder to pull herself up. "Would you mind helping me to the spring the others found…?"

Hope smiled, lifting himself off the ground. "Mhm!" He took hold of her arm and latched it around his shoulders, making sure she was holding on before helping her off of the forest floor.  
>_<p>

When they reached the moon was high in the sky, and the stars were twinkling brightly. "It's beautiful out tonight, Hope… Could you ever see the sky like this in PalumPolum?"

"No…but when Mom and I went to Bodhum, I was pretty amazed the first night we went out to the beach… There weren't any bright, annoying lights from the city to invade the sky. We stayed out on the beach until eleven thirty that night…"

"Yeah…? Serah and I did that a lot… Our house was right by the shore… We used to lay blankets and sleeping bags on the floor right under this big window we had in the living room all the time. That was before Mom died, though… Before I joined the Guardian Corps, I'd let Serah sleep in my room. It was so hard for her back then…she was only twelve when Mom died…" Lightning took a moment to regain herself, finding comfort in Hope's arms. "But every night we slept under that window, Mom would bring us a mug of hot chocolate with exactly three big marshmallows."

Hope smoothed down her rose-colored hair, and placed a kiss on top of her head. "Maybe when all this is over, you could bring her some hot chocolate… That sounds like something she'd like, yeah?"

"Mhm. She'd love it.."

"..I know I don't really know her, and my first…opinions…of her weren't very good, but I think differently of her now. I'd actually really like to meet her. She…she almost sounds a little like my mom…"

"I can understand that. Serah's a very maternal person. And…I guess that's good, since she and Snow are hell-bent on having a big, happy family…"

A comfortable silence filled the air, except for the soft sounds of the nature around them. The light from the moon was bright, and Hope couldn't help but admire the way it lit up her features. How her porcelain skin glowed…how her eyes sparkled and held such light and beauty…how the corners of her mouth curved slightly upward in a small smile just for him… He wouldn't give this up for anything. His hand ran from the top of her head to her temple, slowly moving down to brush against the height of her cheekbone. Lightning copied his movements, only stopping to pull him into a passionate kiss.

It was overpowering and strong, but still gently and tender like a soft caress all at once. It felt like it lasted for hours, all in a simple embrace. They didn't part for a second, even when Hopes hands cradled her cheeks, once softly sliding down to her neck. She barely noticed his mouth leaving hers, moving to kiss down her slender jaw line, or how his hand started to unzip her turtleneck to trail ghost-like kisses on the soft skin.

She chuckled when his hand shakily felt its way down her side, resting on her hip. "You don't have to be nervous, Hope. It's just me."

Hope almost chuckled in response. "It's _because _it's you. I don't want to mess up or hurt you. I have to make it perfect for you.."

"Love…it's because it's _you_ that I _know_ it'll be perfect."

"Light…you don't know that. I could be horrible…"

"Nope. You'll be perfect."

"But…I don't know how…uh…_good_ I am! I-I've never done that before…"

"But you love me, and don't want to hurt me. That's all you need to know.  
>_<p>

The couple was awakened just before the crack of dawn by Fang, with a, "bright an' early, Lovebirds!" She took note of Hope's arm around the soldier's bare waist, and his jacket covering her shoulders and chest. She briefly wondered exactly _what _was under the red cape covering the pair's lower halves. Was it something she could poke fun at later? _Probably_, Fang deduced, eyeing the pile of clothes by an adjacent tree with a smirk.

When the two refused to budged, the tall woman kicked a small amount of water from the spring on their faces. "Get up!"

Lightning swatted at the offending liquid, and promptly gave Fang the finger. "It's still dark out. Go away."

Hope only groaned in response, and pulled the pink-haired woman closer for warmth.

"Get up, or I toss your little boyfriend into the spring."

"Okay."

"Hn…? Wait…Liiight..Fine. I'm up!"

"Don't care. I'm tryin' to get _her _up."

"Lightning…I don't want her to throw me in the spring…" He reached a hand out to shake her shoulder. "Please wake up..?"

"…..fine." She somewhat reluctantly sat up, and just barely grabbed onto Hope before he could be tossed into the cool water. "Happy, Fang?"

"Quite."

"We'll meet you in the clearing, okay?"

"Fine, just don't waste time. "When Fang made her was back to the clearing, she spotted Snow prodding their breakfast with a stick. "Seems like the kid had some fun last night."

"What? Nah, he's too young for that."

"But Lightning's not."

"…you don't think she'd actually do that with Hope this soon, do you? He's only fourteen…"

"Actually, my fifteenth birthday's coming up." Hope quickly ended their conversation, stepping into the clearing almost fully dressed. Lightning trailed after him, still wearing his jacket. "What're we having for breakfast before we set off?"

"….just some meat." Snow prodded the food once more. "You seem awfully _chipper_ this morning, Hope. Why in such a good mood?"

The teen only smirked at the blond man, pleased with his slightly shocked expression. "Sorry, Snow. That's none of your business. But I am in a wonderful mood today.."

"_That's _ what worries me…Hey Light, do _you_ know why Hope's in such a good mood?"

"Yes, but like Hope said, that's none of your business."

"…..uh-huh. Right. Food's done." Snow tossed a few sticks to the group, signaling for them to collect their food from the fire before it burned.

"Besides, Snow, what's it matter to you what I do in _my_ love life?" Light stabbed a piece of meat from the fire, and handed it to Hope. "It's not your decision, anyway."

"Be that as it may, I still think you should wait."

"Wait until what, Snow? None of us know if we're gonna make it out of this alive. Hell, we don't even know when we'll turn Cieth or crystal. I need to spend as much time loving Lightning _now_, or I may never be able to again."

The muscled man was shocked, to say the least, upon hearing Hope's slight outburst. "…well…I guess that's true, but…but what if we _do_ survive? What if we found out that we get to live out the rest of our lives peacefully?"

Light placed a hand on Hope's shoulder, almost to prevent a fight that would surely ensue between the two males. "Snow, that's enough. You know damn well that if we focus on the 'what-if's', we'll only destroy ourselves. We can't dwell on them. We just have to keep going."

"You have to ignore those 'what if's' too, Snow." Vanille piped up from her spot in front of the fire. "You've been ignoring them to focus on saving Serah, right?"

Snow contemplated the ginger-haired girl's words before turning to agree. "…yeah, I guess you're right…I've just been doing what felt right."

"Great, great. Are we done?" Fang impatiently tapped her foot on the dry ground, and motioned for Sazh to douse the campfire. "The moon's out of the sky. We've gotta _move!"_

With a sigh, Lightning nodded and gathered her few things with Hope's aid. "I think I can walk today, Fang."

"No, you won't. You'll be preserving your strength. You use any of it traveling or fighting or _other things_, and you'll be out-of-order for another week or two." The tall woman stalked over to Hope, and placed a hand on his head, rather amused by his embarrassment. "No extracurricular activities with Light 'til she's better, okay kid?"

"Leave him alone, Fang. Besides, don't we need to get going?"

The woman ignored Light's order, and proceeded to poke at the teen's reddened cheeks. "You guys aren't ready, which I'm slightly annoyed at."

"Yeah, yeah, you're just sour cause you didn't get to toss Hope in the spring."

"Hmph. Let's just get outta here before the sun's done rising."  
>_<p>

Lightning sighed as she was once again perched on the back of her future brother-in-law. "Fang, just how far are we gonna go today?"

"The further south we go, the better. We've probably got a few more days to go before the first wave of weather hits, so we'll need to cover as much distance as possible. And the best way to do that is…hmm…" Fang glanced the landscape around her, and smiled when she heard the familiar sound of chocobos trotting along the ground. "Grab yourself a bird! Hope, you'll share with Light. Vanille, you're with me. Snow, Sazh…so whatever."

Sazh had no trouble catching a chocobo for himself, as the little chick popped out of his hair and happily conversed with her fellow birds. Snow had stood proudly by hi chocobo, until the giant bird had plucked the black cap right off of his head, and made chase. Hope had something similar, having to play a game of cat and giant bird, until Sazh stepped in. Once the yellow creatures were caught, they had to begin the task of lifting Light onto the chocobo with Hope. She felt silly, and scowled as hands picked her up to move her. "I feel like a little kid at the fair on the chocobo trail."

"I always liked that one as a kid. Think of it as revisiting old memories, Light. Did Serah like the fair?" Before they started moving, Hope secured his love's arms around his waist.

"Yeah. But she always got so mad that she couldn't ride the bigger chocobos. She'd throw a fit until she got either cotton candy, or a caramel apple. One year, she threw such an annoying fit that she wouldn't stop crying and screaming until we won her a giant pink duck from the dart game."

"…really? Wow. Kind of reminds me of something they have in Nautilus…"

"I've never been to Nautilus. We never traveled much…"

"No? How come..?"

"Well…Mom had to raise Serah and I by herself, and she wouldn't have told us, but she didn't make that much money…"

"Oh.." Hope then realized why it was that Lightning didn't care for people who flaunted their money. It was rude to begin with, but when you're worse off financially, it would almost seem like an insult. For Light, the teen could easily understand that it was a matter of pride.

"But we always managed to go camping at least one weekend every year. It's almost like our entire time on Pulse has been like one, big camping trip."

"Yeah, love? What makes you say that?"

"Well, we'd always bring out own food that we could cook on the fire. Y'know, various meats, vegetables, soups…and for one meal, we'd fish, and eat whatever we caught. We wouldn't rely on any electricity, except for a few flashlights. Mom would always say, 'camping isn't electronic.'"

"Cool! The only camping I ever did was in the living room with my mom… But it was always fun! We'd make a tent out of the furniture and blankets, and watch old movies on her laptop. Then for dinner, she'd make some soup, and we'd eat it out of thermoses."

"That sounds like fun, Hope! Before Serah was old enough, Dad and I went camping once. We planned to do it again, but…"

"But…?"

"…he died before we could go a second time. That's when mom vowed to take us at least once a year."

Hope put a hand on her shoulder, offering her a smile. "I bet you guys had a lot of fun back then… I wonder if that's what it would have been like if I had a younger brother or sister…"

"You wouldn't be the same person you are today if you did. You wouldn't have grown up the same, but you would've had someone to bicker with…a lot, maybe. You probably wouldn't believe it, but Serah and I fought a lot. When we were younger, there would be times that that's all we would do. But…we grew out of that."

"Do you two still fight now?"

"Occasionally, but it's not much …but…these past few years, I…I've regretted a lot of stuff that I've done involving my sister… I wish I could apologize to her… I've said it countless times since this journey started, but…she's not here to hear it…"

Hope wrapped his arm around her waist in a comforting embrace, and gave a quick nod to motion Snow over. The blond reached over to place a hand on his sister's shoulder, still keeping balanced his chocobo. Don't worry, Sis. You can tell her everything you want when we save her."


End file.
